Inside Third & Bond: Week 135

This week the bloggers from The Hudson Companies discuss the importance of finding the right property manager.

As we approach the end of the development phase of Third + Bond, we’re spending more time focusing on the property management piece of the process, and we’re reminded of all the things not to do. There was the developer (well known) who called Hudson’s affiliated management company the week before buyers moved into his project, hoping for a proposal for property management services. There was the developer (also well known) who, having ceded control of management to a company selected by residents, got into a litigious dispute of finger pointing with the condo regarding whether the systems were defective or improperly maintained. Or the developer (really well known) who didn’t hire a property manager for the first 4 months of occupancy. (In case it’s not obvious, we aren’t the developer in any of these instances.)

Our approach is…

…to start with early coordination with our property management arm. Back when Third + Bond was only on paper, we gave the management company a set of drawings and asked for comments. Fast forward to this week when we’ve completed the first 6 TCO inspections and move-ins are on the horizon. What needs to happen to ensure a smooth transition from construction contractor oversight to property management team?

At about this time, the property management team starts being invited to key construction meetings. We want them to become familiar with the project and its building systems. Now is the time to ask questions, when the men who built it are still on the ground. (Sorry, ladies, no women construction workers on this job.) We want to establish a relationship between key subcontractors and the management team, so when the manager calls with a boiler question, the plumber cares enough to answer.

Our manager has a mental list of issues that has come up in other projects and tries to get ahead of the same issues at any new projects. If the HVAC wasn’t properly balanced and resulted in a preponderance of I’m too cold calls, then you better believe the manager is going to scour our air balancing reports.

Meanwhile, we are gathering equipment manuals and warranties to turn over to the manager. A green building isn’t a green building for long if the equipment is not run properly! Knowing when to clean the air filters, what temperature the domestic hot water heater should be set at, and how to change out a pin-based light bulb, are critical to the building’s actual energy efficiency.

But the manager isn’t the only one who needs to know how to keep the green building green. We also rely on the manager to orient the buyers during final walk-throughs. Condo buyers who don’t know how to adjust the heat of the baseboard or set the central air programmable thermostat, will do the terrible sorts of things that renters are often reduced to doing: leaving windows open in winter to cool down or leaving the window a/c on all day!! Not only is this a pity because we want our buildings to be the best performing buildings they can be, but also because improper use can drive up common charges. Fences make good neighbors? Well so do radiators with thermostatic valves.

During the orientation, the manager also likes to make sure the owner has seen the manuals for their appliances, like the washer and dryer. At least that way when the owner calls later to ask how to set the dryer to fluff, he can be tactfully reminded to look at the back of his homeowner’s binder and save the super a trip.

Yes, it sounds silly but on a recent project, the manager tells us the most common maintenance call was for help changing out light bulbs. Not fancy, 20′ high light bulbs but just regular 9′ ceiling height fixtures. Fixing their own stuff is one thing suburban homeowners have up on their urban counterparts. You don’t see the Desperate Housewives calling the developer about a stopped up toilet.

Even though Third + Bond won’t have a tasseled doorman greeting residents each evening and there isn’t a common lounge with morning muffins (nor the expenses of either), the manager takes the many details of managing a project seriously. While he’ll answer calls about stopped up toilets, he’ll probably point you to the neatly outlined list of subcontractors and service providers in your homeowner’s manual. On the other hand, if you have a question about the condo by-laws, concerns about your neighbor’s use of the shared recycling receptacles, or want to know the make and model of the energy recovery ventilator, the manager is just the guy to call. By the time you move in, he’ll have committed every nook, cranny, and small print item to memory. dav

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Inside Third & Bond: Weeks 1-134 [Brownstoner]

Our legal fine print: The complete offering terms are in an Offering Plan available from Sponsor. File No. CD080490. Sponsor: Hudson Third LLC, 826 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.